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British taxpayers are spending more on treating obesity-related conditions than on the police or fire service, the head of the National Health Service has admitted.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said that around 40 per cent of the NHS's workload is related to "modifiable health risk factors", such as excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and lack of exercise.

NHS England said around £16 billion a year is spent on the direct medical costs of diabetes and conditions related to being overweight or obese.

£16 billion a year is spent on the direct medical costs of diabetes and conditions related to being overweight or obese

They added that the fire and police services cost the British tax payer £13.6 billion each year.

Mr Stevens suggested a greater drive towards tackling the causes of soaring obesity levels could save the the health service billions of pounds each year.

Speaking at to MPs on the Commons Health Select Committee, he said: "A good place to start would be childhood obesity, and obviously the sugar tax in the budget is a key building block in that."

Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHSCredit:
Geoff Pugh

He said reducing the amount of salt in people's diets has saved the NHS around £1.5 billion since 2001, and clamping down on sugar intake will have a similar effect.

"We are now spending more on obesity-related conditions in this country than we are on the police or fire service," he told MPs.

"Action to take added sugar out of food and drinks, as we have successfully done with salt over the last 15 years, that will show up as reduced rates of type two diabetes, reduced rates of diabetic blindness, amputations."

A teaspoon of sugar Credit:
Luis Ascui/Getty

He also called on the Government's to publish their strategy for tacking childhood obesity in England, "soon", after a series of delays to its publication.

The report, which is due to be unveiled in the coming weeks, will reportedly recommend that junk food adverts should be banned from being screened near "family programmes" such as The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent.

Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance: "Simon Stevens is right to raise obesity as an issue but he is wrong to say the sugar tax is a way to combat it.

"Instead of capitulating to the self-appointed High Priests of the Nanny State in the public health lobby, the Chancellor should scrap this regressive tax as increasing amounts of evidence shows it simply will not work.

Experts have warned that people are plumping up at such a rate that by 2025 roughly a fifth of the human race will be obeseCredit:
Dominic Lipinski

"Lasting change in people's diets will happen via a long-term cultural shift, by focusing on education and encouraging personal responsibility, not by hiking the cost of living for the poorest families."